"LIT" 2003 Obituary

LITCH o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-03-26 published
GRENFELL,
DouglasPaul
Our beloved Paul died peacefully, Sunday 23 March, 2003 at Toronto
Grace Hospital, in the loving setting of the Palliative Care
Unit, thus ending a two year adventure with a brain tumour. He
leaves a circle of constant Friends and a grieving family: mother
Gwendoline, wife
Sally, parents-in-law Richard and Kathleen
LITCH,
his children and Sally's, Jennifer and her husband Thomas and
their sons Ian and Daniel, Philip and his partner Albert Liu,
Lisa and her husband Nicholas
SAMSTAG,
Laura and her husband
Gabriel BINCIK and their daughters Hanna and Julia, Amelia
WALLNER
and her partner Todd
DYER,
AnnaWALLNER and her husband Blair
QUINN, the
LITCH and
MERCER families and cousins in England.
Predeceased by his father Harold. Also remembered by Molly
LOGAN.
Cremation. Service of Thanksgiving for Paul's life will be at
Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, 230 St. Clair Avenue West, M4V
1R5, (416) 925-5977, Monday 31 March at 11 a.m. with The Reverend
Dr. Andrew
STIRLING officiating. Kindnesses to others or gifts
to the Gerry and Nancy Pencer Centre for Brain Tumours, 610 University
Avenue, Toronto M5G 2M9 (416) 946-6560 or to Paul's Church would
honour his memory.
''...Sorrow and Love flow mingled down...''

LITTLE o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-02-13 published
Gordon Kenneth
FLEMING/FLEMMING
By Jack FORTINThursday,February 13, 2003, Page A30
Musician, husband, father. Born August 3, 1931, in Winnipeg.
Died August 31, 2002, in Scarborough, Ontario, following a stroke,
aged 71.
Gordie FLEMING/FLEMMING was a remarkable music talent, known internationally
as a master of the accordion, especially in the jazz idiom. He
was a life member of Local 149 of the Toronto Musicians' Association.
In show-business vernacular, Gordie was "born in a trunk." He
began playing accordion when his older brother gave him lessons.
His musical ability was such that he began performing publicly
at the age of five. His schoolteachers often saw him being whisked
away in a taxi to perform at theatres and radio stations in Winnipeg.
By the age of 10, he was a working member of various bands in
that city.
In 1949, Gordie lost his accordion in a fire at a Winnipeg hotel.
With the insurance money, he headed for the bright lights of
Montreal where he soon became an important part of that city's
musical life. His accordion ability was complemented by the fact
that he was also a gifted arranger and composer.
He had a marvellous ability to improvise and could string out
complex bebop lines, leaving his listeners in awe. He often slipped
a jazz phrase into ballads or commercial tunes, confirming that
jazz was indeed his first love.
One of Montreal's busiest musicians, he wrote for local orchestras,
shows, radio and television. He had perfect pitch and often wrote
without reference to a keyboard. He was at home in every type
of music from classics to jazz. For several years, he worked
at the National Film Board as a composer and musician.
In Montreal, Gordie performed with many show business headliners:
there was a wealth of home-grown talent in Montreal, such as
Oscar PETERSON and Maynard
FERGUSON, as well as other jazz musicians
who were beginning to be noticed.
Gordie had said that when when he first heard bebop it was like
entering another world. As his career indicates, he had no trouble
in that world. He worked with many personalities including: Charlie
PARKER, Mel
TORMÉ, Hank
SNOW, Lena
HORNE, Englebert
HUMPERDINCK,
Dennis DAY, Gordon
MacRAE, Cab
CALLOWAY, Nat King
COLE, Cat
STEVENS,
Rich LITTLE, Billy
ECKSTEIN, Pee Wee
HUNT, Arthur
GODFREY and
Buddy DEFRANCO.
He also performed with Tommy
AMBROSE,
AllanMILLS, Wally
KOSTER,
Tommy HUNTER,
BertNIOSI, Wayne and Shuster, Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation jazz shows with Al
BACULIS, and many other Canadian
jazz musicians.
On Montreal's French music scene, Gordie performed on radio and
television with Emile
GENEST, Ti-Jean
CARIGNAN,
AndréGAGNON
and Ginette
RENO. He was a featured soloist with the Montreal
Symphony Orchestra on several occasions.
Internationally, Gordie toured France in 1952 and performed with
Edith PIAF and Tino
ROSSI. He had the honour to perform for former
prime minister Pierre Elliot
TRUDEAU at a Commonwealth Conference.
He participated with other top Canadian musicians in a Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation tour to entertain Canadian and the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization troops in Europe in 1952 and 1968.
For me, a memorable experience was playing in a group with Gordie
for several winters in Florida. A popular member of the Panama
City Beach family of musicians, Gordie looked forward to his
winter trek south. Many of the American musicians will miss him,
as will the many snowbirds who looked forward to hearing him
each year.
His extensive repertoire allowed Gordie to author a book called
Music of the World, in which he wrote the music to 280 songs
from more than 30 countries.
Gordie leaves his wife of 47 years, Joanne, and seven children.
Jack FORTIN is Gordie's friend.

LITTLE o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-07-30 published
LITTLE,
AlexanderRoss
Ross died peacefully at home on July 25, 2003. Born November
15, 1908 in Woodstock Ontario, he is predeceased by parents Henry
Alexander LITTLE and Emily Christina (née
ROSS,) and his only
brother Jim
LITTLE
(Lillian) of London, Ontario. Ross is survived
by his wife of 65 years, Helen and their children: Christy; Peter
(Noreen) of Owen Sound and their children Marion (Ted
HODSON,)
Martha (Eric
TIISLER,)
Alexander
(KimSTARK,) Heather and Christopher
Andrew of Calgary; and Ron (Cath) of Calgary and their children
Jane and Jim; and by five great-grandchildren.
Childhood at Altadore, his family home in Woodstock and many
years at Lakefield Preparatory School were followed by Ridley
College School, Trinity College (U of T), (Beta Theta Pi) Osgoode
Hall, membership in the Law Society of Upper Canada and work
with the Canada Permanent Trust Company. Ross married Helen
(SHUTTLEWORTH)
on April 14, 1938 in London, Ontario then served as an Royal
Canadian Air Force Wing Commander during World War 2. Rejoining
the Permanent, he became Winnipeg Branch Manager from 1945 until
his retirement in 1972.
Volunteer commitments: The Canadian Disaster Relief Fund, Trustee
of the Winnipeg School Board District 1, Save the Children Canada,
figure skating judge, the Crescentwood Home Owners Association,
the Men's Musical Club, Kiwanis and St. George's Anglican Church
- Building Committee, Warden, Vestry and 50 year member of the
Choir.
Favorite pastimes: singing, piano, painting with Helen and Canadian
history through the Champlain Society and Hudson's Bay Record
Society, travels with Helen and Christy, a life time of golf
including many years at St. Charles Golf and Country Club and
ice dancing at the Winnipeg Winter Club with Helen.
An exemplary citizen, wonderful father and truly gentle man,
he will be dearly missed.
Memorial service: Saturday August 2 at 11:00 a.m., St. George's
Anglican Crescentwood, 168 Wilton Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3M 3C3.
In lieu of flowers: the St. George's Memorial Fund c/o the Church,
Kiwanis Club of Winnipeg Foundation Inc. 430 Webb Place Winnipeg,
Manitoba R3B 3J7, the Winnipeg Art Gallery 300 Memorial Blvd.,
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 1V1 or Save the Children Canada, 4141
Yonge Street, Suite 300 Toronto, Ontario M2P 2A8.